The Washington Capitals were on ice Wednesday for a practice as they prepare for a critical matchup with the Florida Panthers on Thursday night at Verizon Center. Some updates from Kettler Capitals Iceplex:

Troy Brouwer was absent from practice because of a maintenance day, but is expected to play Thursday for now. Brouwer has been taking a beating of late, and this seems like an actual maintenance day. With his absence, the lines were as follows: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Johansson, Chimera-Perreault-Semin, Hendricks-Laich-Beagle, Aucoin-Halpern-Knuble, and Ward-Eakin.

Also of note, John Erskine, who is suffering from a lower body injury, returned to the ice after missing about a week of practice. Erskine is on injured reserve and I think it’s safe to say he won’t play in a game the rest of the regular season.

In a shocking turn of events, Dale Hunter also actually revealed his starting goaltender for Thursday’s game as Michal Neuvirth, saying it’s “Michal’s show.”